"Police in Syria have sealed the southern city of Daraa and fired tear gas at crowdsof people gathered to mourn the deaths of two men killed by security forces, according to witnesses.

Thousands of mourners gathered in the centre of the city on Saturday, marching behind the coffins of Wissam Ayyash and Mahmoud al-Jawabra, who were killed when security forces opened fire on protesters a day earlier.

Mazen Darwish, a prominent Syrian rights activist, said police had sealed the city with people being allowed out but unable to enter....."

"After online calls for a "day of dignity", protesters demanding an end to alleged government corruption took to the streets of cities across Syria on Friday. But they were met with a violent crackdown orchestrated by state security forces.

In one video subsequently posted online, water cannon are used on crowds of protesters. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports on the "Facebook youth" who appear to be keeping one step ahead of the authorities."

"(New York) - The United States should immediately suspend military assistance to Yemen until President Ali Abdullah Saleh ends attacks on largely peaceful anti-government protesters and prosecutes those responsible, Human Rights Watch said today.

In the deadliest attack since daily anti-government protests began in mid-February, unidentified gunmen on March 18, 2011, opened fire from nearby buildings and the ground on largely peaceful demonstrators in Sanaa, the capital, while security forces stood by without intervening, local human rights activists told Human Rights Watch. Doctors said 45 protesters, including one young girl, were shot dead, and more than 350 others were wounded, most from gunshots.

Human Rights Watch was not able to confirm media reports that members of the security forces also fired on protesters. However, gunmen seen firing from buildings, including the al-Mahweet governor's house and a bank, had shooting skills that suggested that they were professional marksmen, the local activists said.

"Time and again, President Saleh promises he will stop attacks on peaceful protesters and yet the number of dead keeps rising," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The United States should back up its words condemning the carnage with action, and halt military aid to Yemen."

"So we are going to take "all necessary measures" to protect the civilians of Libya, are we? Pity we didn't think of that 42 years ago. Or 41 years ago. Or... well, you know the rest. And let's not be fooled by what the UN resolution really means. Yet again, it's going to be regime-change. And just as in Iraq – to use one of Tom Friedman's only memorable phrases of the time – when the latest dictator goes, who knows what kind of bats will come flying out of the box?

And after Tunisia, after Egypt, it's got to be Libya, hasn't it? The Arabs of North Africa are demanding freedom, democracy, liberation from oppression. Yes, that's what they have in common. But what these nations also have in common is that it was us, the West, that nurtured their dictatorships decade after decade after decade. The French cuddled up to Ben Ali, the Americans stroked Mubarak, while the Italians groomed Gaddafi until our own glorious leader went to resurrect him from the political dead....."

Mazen Darwish says people are being allowed out of Daraa but they cannot come in. He cited residents who did not want their names published for fear of reprisals.

Funerals were planned today in Daraa after Syrian security forces launched a harsh crackdown yesterday on protesters calling for political freedoms. Accounts from activists and social media say at least five people died in the gravest unrest in years in one of the most repressive states in the Mideast.

Sealing the city appeared to be a way to isolate any further unrest in Daraa.

Darwish said at least five people were shot and killed Friday when security forces tried to disperse hundreds of protesters in the southern town of Daraa, near the Jordanian border. He cited eyewitnesses and hospital officials at the scene.

Yesterday's violence happened during one of several demonstrations across the country in areas including Homs, Banyas and the capital, Damascus [see videos from all these cities posted here yesterday]. But only the Daraa protest turned deadly, Darwish said....."

Hopes have been raised for a better future, but can they be achieved without bloodshed?

A GOOD COMMENTElham Maneaguardian.co.uk, Saturday 19 March 2011

"....I called her on Friday after hearing of gunmen firing on a protest rally in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, killing tens of protesters. The voices of ambulance sirens were clear and loud. They stood in stark contrast to the joyful and hopeful atmosphere of the sit-in camp three weeks ago, when Othman and I participated in a women's rally.

Othman, who is in her forties, was drawn to the Yemeni youth movement just like other members of Yemeni urban civil society. She was inspired by their unyielding belief in the possibility of peaceful political change in Yemen.

The youth, on the other hand, took their cue from the Tunisian uprising. One young female leading activist, Wameth Mohammad Shakir, explained that the day after President Ben Ali fled Tunisia they organised a demonstration in front of the French embassy: "We wanted to tell them, take your hands of Arab world's democracy." A day later a huge demonstration started out of Sana'a University. The uprising was launched and it spread to other cities in Yemen.....

Change is a must. Fuad Alsalahi, a political scientist at Sana'a university, says "a total political overhaul has become a national necessity". He suggests three scenarios: "A drastic reform implemented by the president himself; the street will explode and as a result the country enters a phase of political instability; or the Libyan scenario will repeat itself."

The first is not realistic given Saleh's history in sustaining the politics of corruption in Yemen. The second and third alternatives are certainly realistic given Yemen's power and tribal structures.

There is of course a fourth course: a vision espoused by the youths dreaming of peaceful and sustainable political change – one insisting that Yemenis deserve better than a choice between war and corruption.Unfortunately, this one is smothered by the violent response of Saleh's nervous regime."

"A Yemeni journalist was among those killed when security forces opened fire on protestors in the capital Sana'a yesterday.

Jamal Ahmed al-Sharabi was shot while covering the demonstration for the independent newspaper Al-Masdar.

Reports say that at least 30 [actually 46] people, including children, were killed and many more wounded.

IPI's press freedom manager Anthony Mills said: "We are disturbed by allegations that al-Sharabi may have been killed by security forces... It is unacceptable that journalists reporting on the ongoing uprisings in the Arab world be made to pay with their lives just for doing their job.""

"A fighter plane has been shot down and plunged into Benghazi after a night of large explosions and shelling in and around the Libyan rebel stronghold. Fighting has continued despite the regime declaring a ceasefire under threat of UN-backed air strikes.

TV footage and photographs showed the fighter passing over, then bursting into flames and coming down with the pilot apparently ejecting. Reporters in the area confirmed the crash.

There are accounts of troops entering Benghazi and the rebels putting up barricades....

In an attempt to reassure Middle East opinion and his own domestic audience, Obama said the US would help to co-ordinate a no-fly-zone but not lead an operation that will include French, British and Arab jets....."

"Reports from Libya say pro-government forces have entered the western outskirts of the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, with the city also coming under attack from the coast and the south.

Witnesses in Bengazi, in the east of the country, said they heard large explosions on Saturday. Al Jazeera's correspondents reporting from the city told of multiple explosions, plumes of smoke in the sky and a fighter jet getting shot down.

Al Jazeera's James Bays said there were reports that the plane belonged to the opposition rebels.

Government troops reportedly bombed the southern Benghazi suburb of Goreshi among other places. Artillery and mortars were also fired in the centre of the city.

"There's a lot of jittery people here at the moment, there is a lot of activity and a lot of firing going on," Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley reported from Benghazi.

Al Jazeera's Bays said "[the opposition has] the resolve, they are determined to fight back, but they don't have the hardware that Gaddafi's forces have." He said "it will likely be a protracted battle" if Gaddafi tried to take the opposition stronghold......"

Friday, March 18, 2011

By Tony Sayegh(Scroll down for more new posts)It is increasingly clear that the Western imperial powers, with Arab reactionary regimes cover, are putting into effect in Libya what I refer to as the Kissinger doctrine.

Let me explain. During the Iraq-Iran war, Kissinger used to say that the US strategy is to keep both countries fighting (and exhausting each other) as long as possible. He said that if either country was getting ready to keel over, then the US would help (with arms, intelligence, etc) just enough so that it gets back on its feet and stays in the fight as long as possible. That way the killing and destruction, on both sides, are maximized. The strategy worked and until today, both countries (and the region as a whole), are still paying the price.

A similar strategy was used within Iraq, after the invasion, by encouraging Sunnis, Shias and Kurds to slaughter each other. The US military took turns in supporting each element of the triangle, and sometimes at the same time.

I am afraid that the same strategy is at work in Libya. After decades of describing Gaddafi as the "mad dog of Tripoli," the West declared that he was rehabilitated once the right price was extracted from him. Arms, oil deals and even favorable publicity flowed after that.

Those same US/British/French arms were, and continue to be used, to slaughter the Libyan people and to keep the "mad dog" in power.

The Western imperialists waited, wringing their hands, until the revolutionaries in Libya were in retreat and almost cornered in the last stronghold of Benghazi, to miraculously pull the rabbit out of the hat and supposedly decided to intervene to stop the "mad dog".

We were told yesterday that military action would not be limited to just enforcing a no-fly zone. We were also told that the Western militaries, led by those fearsome air forces of Qatar, UAE and SA, would be "in action" in a matter of hours.

A day later we are told that military "coordination and preparations" are under way. In the meantime the "mad dog" continues his heavy bombardment of Misratah and other cities.

What is really going on?

I think that the game plan is to get both sides to slaughter each other and to destroy the country. As the revolutionaries get exhausted the US will install its own Libyan Karzai who will give the US everything it asks for, including military bases in Libya.

If on the other hand the revolutionaries are not worth their salt and even a better deal can be struck with the "mad dog," then after he is weakened and his wings clipped, a new round of rehabilitation would ensue. Tony Blair is always ready to save his friend in Tripoli and to make a few bucks in the process.

It is imperative that a wise and mature Libyan revolutionary leadership understands how this game is played and not to count on the US/NATO, with the help of the great democracies of SA, UAE and Jordan, to rescue them. They better depend on themselves fast, and get over their illusions.

"Galloway suggests that a deal was done between the US and Arab rulers, whereby the Arab League would back the no-fly rule over Libya and in return the US would acquiesce to the Saudi invasion of Bahrain."

Welcome though it seems on humanitarian grounds, there are six serious problems with this UN resolution

Abdel al-Bari Atwanguardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011

"....But any relief should be tempered by serious misgivings.

First, what motives lie behind this intervention?......

So this is the second problem: the main players in this intervention are western powers led by Britain and France with US involvement likely. If Libya's neighbours, Egypt and Tunisia, were playing the leading role that would be something to celebrate....

Finally, there is the worry that the Arab spring will be derailed by events in Libya. If uprising plus violent suppression equals western intervention, the long-suffering Arab subjects of the region's remaining autocrats might be coerced into sticking with the status quo.

The Libyan people face a long period of violent upheaval whatever happens. But it is only through their own steadfastness and struggle that they will finally win the peaceful and democratic state they long for."

The Egyptian revolution has been plastic-wrapped as victorious and peaceful – but there have been disturbing developments

A VERY GOOD COMMENTJack Shenkerguardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011

".....But Ragy's torture was carried out after Mubarak's departure, a stone's throw from the square where Egyptians came together to reimagine something different and dream up a new society. His torturers were the footsoldiers of those tasked with overseeing the country's "transition" to democracy; they took the chants of the revolution and twisted them into words of abuse, leaving lattice-webs of bloody welts on Egyptian backsides before holding 10-minute kangaroo court hearings in secret to find their captives guilty.

As the international media shifted its attention to Libya, Egypt's ongoing revolution faded into the background and found itself incorporated into fresh, unthreatening narratives deployed by western politicians to enable them to talk admiringly of "people struggling for universal rights" while giving a green light for those same universal rights to be scythed down in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.....

Decapitating the regime was merely the first step, but as long as Egyptians' fantasies for the future go beyond the narrow, claustrophobic delineations of formal politics and encompass far-reaching social and economic changes as well, then that energy and ability to mobilise will resist the permanently lapping waves of counter-revolution, however much the tide ebbs and flows.

A revolution isn't an insta-event, it's a permanent struggle to unleash the creativity of people's minds and translate that into a new reality. As the arguments over this weekend's referendum show, that struggle is alive and well in Egypt and will continue to be so – whether the world is watching or not."

Death toll rises as government forces start to use live rounds in increasingly violent crackdown on nationwide protests

Tom Finn in Sana'aguardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011

"Yasir Saeed was the first casualty dragged into the mosque. Blood was still trickling from the gaping bullet wound in the back of the 32-year-old English teacher's head as doctors lowered his mangled body on to a blanket, muttering a short prayer before closing the lids of his eyes.

Gradually, his corpse was joined by others lined up in a row alongside him. One by one, miniature Qur'ans were placed on their chests as their blood soaked through the carpet beneath them.

The scene was desperate and chaotic. It followed the worst day of violence in Yemen since protests against president Ali Abdullah Saleh began in earnest over a month ago. At least 45 people were killed and hundreds of others wounded as security forces and plainclothes government loyalists opened fire on protesters trying to march through the capital, Sana'a....."

WikiLeaks diplomatic cables claim US general offered counter-terrorist training and facilitated provision of tanks from Jordan

Robert Boothguardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011

"A top American general was involved in supplying Yemeni forces with counter-terrorist training in order to help the regime "independently conduct counter terror operations", according to US diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks.

General Petraeus, President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Yemeni military agreed to increase the tempo of cooperation and training at a meeting in Sana'a in August 2009. Petraeus also facilitated the provision to Yemen's military of 25 M-113 armored personnel vehicles from Jordan.

The general then sent the head of the US military's special operations command centre to Sana'a to discuss their counter-terror cooperation in detail and he advised on training opportunities with US allies in the region, the cables reveal....."

".....One of Saudi Arabia’s pretexts for entering Bahrain was to prevent the proverbial foreign elements (re: Iran) from meddling in its internal affairs. This was dismissed by Gates and WikiLeaks cables reveal alleged Iranian interference to be an unsubstantiated claim. Indeed, the only interference has come from the GCC in general and Saudi Arabia in particular in a last-ditch effort to preserve dynastic rule.

It comes too late, for the genie is out of the bottle and it will not return. Many will continue to pay with their lives, but the days of monarchy are numbered. In the Persian Gulf, it will start with Bahrain, making it the most important revolution of all."

"Now that the United Nations Security Council resolution for a no-fly zone has been passed, how will it be implemented?

....However, the overzealousness of certain Western powers like Britain, France and, as of late, the US, to interpret the resolution as an open-ended use of force, is worrisome. With their long history of interference and hegemony in the region, their political and strategic motivation remains dubious at best....

This sounds like 'damned if they do, damned if they don't'?

Well, the onus is on these Western powers to prove that their next move and actions are based on a strictly humanitarian basis and are not meant as a down payment for longer-term interference in Libyan and regional affairs....

What then should Libyans, Arabs and other interested global powers do to help Libya avoid a terrible escalation to violence or a major humanitarian disaster?

Now that the international community has given the Libyan revolutionaries a protective umbrella that includes a full range of military and humanitarian actions, it is incumbent upon the Libyan opposition to mobilise for mass action in every city and town both in the east and west and challenge the regime's militias.

As the Libyan regime loses its civilian, tribal and international legitimacy, so will his security base be shaken over the next few days and weeks.

In fact, if the Libyan revolutionaries avoid complacency and exploit their newly gained legitimacy and protection in order to work more closely with their Arab neighbours and to demonstrate their political and popular weight in the country, the regime could very well implode from within.

The most effective and constructive way to use the newly mandated use of force by the UN Security Council is to use as little of it, as accurately, as selectively as possible, and ideally not use it at all. It is still possible for the threat of the use of international force, coupled with domestic popular pressure, to bring down the weakened regime.

An escalation to an all out war is in no one's interest, especially Libya's."

"....It is remarkable how in a relatively short period of time- three months- the entire Arab World has been transformed from a static and bleak political status quo to a dynamic and lively force for far-reaching change. Hence, it is prudent to take the time to assess the political sea change across the Arab world in the past few months.....

The February 17 Libyan revolution against the vicious forty-one year rule of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi was as popular as the other Arab uprisings. Although it started as massive peaceful protests, it quickly turned to an armed struggle because of the nature of the regime. Gaddafi built his power base around the establishment of several armed battalions controlled by (and even named after) his sons and close relatives. In addition, he also imported thousands of mercenaries to fight his people and spread terror to crush the revolution....

But the primary challenge for the opposition is in maintaining the real goals of the revolution, namely the establishment and insistence of an independent, free and democratic Libya, despite all foreign interference and regional pressures.....

Similar to Libya’s Gaddafi, the Saleh regime has been sustained by two major power bases, the security and army units led by his son, nephews, and other close relatives, as well as by the fierce loyalty of major leaders of his tribe. But despite hundreds of casualties, the protesters are determined to continue their peaceful demonstrations and sit-ins until the regime collapses....

Bahrain, the tiny island in the Persian Gulf, has been in turmoil since February 14. The popular protests against King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifah have been led by the major opposition groups of the repressed Shi’ite majority. If the Egyptians were tired of Mubarak’s thirty-year rule, the Bahraini majority has been suffocated by the Al-Khalifa family’s 230-year tenure.

The peaceful protests by tens of thousands were met initially by security, then army, crackdowns. As casualties mounted, the demands of the protesters escalated from calling for a change of government, to a constitutional monarchy, and then to demanding total regime change (from a monarchy to a republic).....

But the sectarian system created in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion in Iraq is less than eight years old. People in Iraq of all ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations have taken to the streets to challenge the government’s sectarian-based composition and protest the widespread corruption of the political parties. They have been met with deadly force by the security apparatus of the American-backed government without a whiff from their patrons in Washington, London, or other Western capitals....

But throughout these spectacular revolutions and popular protests the only consistent policy of the West has been its inconsistency.....

The speedy downfall of the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes have raised the hopes of millions across the region (and even worldwide) that the demise of the remaining autocratic regimes across the Arab world was imminent. But the slowdown in the progress or frustrations in tangible achievements of the various protests, uprisings, and revolutions should be put into perspective.

Great revolutions that bring genuine political change are historical episodes that demand enormous efforts and sacrifices, but above all necessitate patience and perseverance, and take months, and sometimes even years, to achieve their goals....."

"Yemen is a different story, I guess. I don't see the Western crocodile tears being shed. I don't see sudden indignation and the sudden discovery--was in Libya--that the leader there is a dictator. US/Saudi Arabia want Salih in power no matter what. Notice that the story is being played down in US media.

Notice that it was US that requested that Arab countries (Qatar, UAE and Jordan) play a role in Libya. I mean, what do you think of a resolution that requires the intervention of the likes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and Jordan to secure "democracy" for Libya?This is a sham.

Don't buy that Saudi Arabia is acting without US support in Bahrain. Who are they fooling. Saudi Arabia is not Israel: it does not act without prior knowledge, nay request from, of the US. This is all coordinated. I wish to revise something I said about the shameful coverage of Aljazeera (or lack there of) in the case of Bahrain. I don't believe that the decision on Bahrain was purely a deal between Saudi Arabia and Qatar: i strongly believe that it was a US-Qatar deal as well. Yesterday, the narrator reported a story on Bahrain on Aljazeera: it concluded bizarrely by calling for "dialogue" between government and opposition. That makes one wonders: why does not Aljazeera hold the same stance on Libya?

The plot thickens. Saudi Arabia and US and Israel are trying to abort the Arab uprisings one by one: the charade in Libya is not to enhance the Arab change movement: it is aimed at undermining it everywhere."

"Ralph Nader and Daniel Ellsberg plan to participate in a major protest on Saturday in Washington, D.C., to mark the eight-year anniversary of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq. Ellsberg will risk arrest by participating in nonviolent civil disobedience actions by Veterans for Peace, among others, to protest the ongoing military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. "We’re just slaughtering innocents," Nader says. "Why don’t we say what is on the minds of many legal experts? The Obama administration is committing war crimes. If Bush should have been impeached, Obama should be impeached."...."

"Yemeni security forces have opened fire at a protest in the capital Sanaa, killing at least 30 people.It is the highest death toll in a single day after weeks of demonstrations calling for Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, to stand down.

Witnesses say armed men opened fire from nearby buildings as protesters gathered in Sanaa's University Square after Friday prayers

NOTICE AL-JAZEERA'S CHOICE OF WORDS WHEN IT COMES TO BAHRAIN:"CLASHES", "VIOLENCE",....AS IF IT IS A CLASH BETWEEN EQUALS.THE DEMONSTRATORS ARE 100% PEACEFUL! THEY ARE BEING MOWED DOWN USING LIVE AMMO!

"Bahrain's largest opposition group has urged Saudi Arabia to withdraw its forces and called for a UN inquiry into the the government's on-going crackdown.

Clashes between security forces and anti goverment protesters continue, spilling into villages across the country.

Our special correspondent, whom we are not naming for security reasons, filed this report."

".....So the question is inevitable. Would the UN vote with the same zeal to impose a no drive zone on Saudi Arabia - to prevent it from sending tanks and troops across the causeway to repress people in Bahrain, a country it has already invaded?

Time for Hypocrisy Alert number 3. Washington, according to the brand new Obama administration doctrine, applies "US outreach" to rebels when dealing with "evil" dictators" such as Gaddafi. The rebels eventually get full UN support. Then Washington preaches "regime alteration" when dealing with "our" bastards, such as Bahrain's al-Khalifas and the House of Saud. The dictators get away with murder......"

"(Manama) - Bahraini authorities refused to let injured people reach the country's largest public health facility on March 16, 2011, and interfered with medical services at other facilities as well, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces prevented ambulances transporting injured people from reaching the hospitals.

The security forces prevented access to medical care after they used teargas, rubber bullets, gunshot pellets, and live ammunition rounds to disperse protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama early in the morning and established control over surrounding Shia areas. The security operation on March 16 and operations in several other Shia villages on March 15 resulted in the deaths of at least six civilians and three members of Bahrain's security forces, and hundreds of injuries, according to media reports.

"There can be no justification for denying critical medical care," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "King Hamad, as the commander of Bahrain's army, bears responsibility for this flagrant violation of the right to health and potentially the right to life...."

In a 2004 interview, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi says democracy in Libya is a personal project – it doesn't sound like the man urging a fight 'to the last bullet'

Brian Whitaker

guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011

"As British and French war planes prepare to launch air strikes on Libya, another western military visit to the country comes to mind. In January 2004, a US navy plane made the first recorded visit by an American military aircraft since President Reagan ordered the bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986. This time, though, the plane was carrying six members of Congress on a goodwill mission and, along with several other British journalists, I was there to witness the event......

Looking back at Saif's words in 2004, it's difficult to imagine that this is the same person who was pictured recently waving a gun in Tripoli and urging the regime's supporters to fight until "the last bullet". What to make of it? I don't know...."

A race is now on to put the UN security council's words into effect before it is too late

By Julian BorgerThe Guardian

"....But the Obama administration, which tried very hard to avoid this moment, is insistent that the Arabs and Europeans must at least be seen to take the lead, and that will take more time. There is a trade-off between speed and making it look right.

First of all, the matter has to go to Nato, where contingency planning has been underway for a couple of weeks, but where Turkey has been resisting military intervention. Any decision to act requires unanimity....

These Arab volunteers have yet to come forward, but diplomats quoted in the New York Times suggested that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would play a leading role, with Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia also considering taking part. Egyptian participation could make air bases close to the Libyan border available, making the whole operation a lot easier......"

Thursday, March 17, 2011

"The unarmed, middle-aged man in the video seems to pose no threat to the Bahraini security forces. He gesticulates at a group of soldiers or policemen, dressed in blue jumpsuits and white helmets, just a few feet away.

One of them gestures as if to wave away a nearby protester filming the incident. Then the civilian is shot.

He sinks to his knees. He stands. He is shot again. And this time he does not get up.

The footage of the incident leaves many questions unanswered. There is no evidence of when it was filmed, or of whether the man was shot with rubber bullets, tear gas or live bullets. The victim's name is unknown. And there is no word whether he lived or died.

But as it spread around the world online yesterday, at the same time as the government arrested seven top opposition leaders and kept injured protesters away from the country's main hospital, it seemed to emblematise the lengths to which the authorities were prepared to go to maintain their grip on power....."

"....The Americans, the British and the French have come to understand that establishing a no-fly zone is not enough. Colonel Gaddafi's main strike force consists of tanks and infantry, so inability to use aircraft might not be sufficient to stop him capturing Benghazi and eastern Libya.....

There is less clarity with Libya. Is the aim to defend the rebels in the eastin the east of the country?

Will it extend to any surviving rebel strongholds in the west, such as Misurata, where there has been street fighting? Is the aim to get rid of Colonel Gaddafi? No-fly zones on their own are difficult to make work effectively.....

.....The problem is that it is not clear who the US and Europe will be aiding. The most surprising development in this uprising is that it began with the defection of military units but these, until the last few days, have not appeared on the battlefield. Hillary Clinton says what really changed her mind about intervening in Libya was the Arab League's statement calling for action. But the members of this somewhat discredited body are mostly autocracies which may dislike Gaddafi, but whose methods of government are no less repressive. "

Read the full text of the resolution passed at UN headquarters in favour of a no-fly zone and air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 March 2011

"...........Protection of civilians

4. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council;

5. Recognizes the important role of the League of Arab States in matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security in the region, and bearing in mind Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, requests the Member States of the League of Arab States to cooperate with other Member States in the implementation of paragraph 4;....."

The witnesses said Saudi security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators in the city of Qateef where shots also rang out. Marches were also held in the mainly Shiite Eastern Province of Tarut, Safwa and Awamiya.

Aljazeera live is covering the session and is showing enormous, delirious crowds celebrating in downtown Benghazi, which Qaddafi had threatened to occupy earlier on Thursday. They are deploying celebratory fire, which I’d advise them against, since Qaddafi’s forces are near and the more activist elements of NATO likely to intervene on their behalf rather farther away. They may yet need the bullets.

A note: The resolution was co-sponsored by the Lebanese government, in which the Shiite party Hizbullah (Hezbollah) is a leading element. In part, Lebanon was representing the Arab League, which in some ways was the major political force (along with Britain and France) pushing for world action. But in other ways something more personal was going on.

When I was working for a newspaper in Beirut in 1978, I translated wire service reports on the disappearance of the great Shiite leader Mousa al-Sadr while on a trip to Libya. He was likely murdered by Qaddafi and put in a grave somewhere there. I once attended a lecture by Sadr in Beirut. He was a great man, charismatic and a force for uplift in his community and for outreach to other communities. He probably went to Libya in an attempt to convince Qaddafi not to send any more weapons to the factions there (such arms shipments and factionalization contributed to the long Lebanese Civil War). Lebanese Shiites, including Hizbullah, still lionize Mousa al-Sadr and despise Qaddafi.

• UN security council expected to pass Libya resolution• US and Britain support air strikes to protect civilians• France ready to launch first missions within hours• Gaddafi declares: 'There will be no mercy' in Benghazi• Qatar and UAE governments may add forces

Richard Adamsguardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 March 2011

"Here's the result:10 in favour, zero against, five abstentions. So the vote went exactly as predicted. "The resolution 1973/2011 is adopted.," says the chairman....."

"Britain, France and the US, along with several Arab countries, are to join forces to throw a protective ring around the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi as soon as a UN security council vote on military action is authorised, according to security council sources.

A source at UN headquarters in New York said military forces could be deployed "within hours" of a new security council resolution calling for states to protect civilians by halting attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's forces by air, land and sea.

The resolution would impose a no-fly zone over Libya – but a no-fly zone was no longer enough, the source said. "The resolution authorises air strikes against tank columns advancing on Benghazi or engaging naval ships bombarding Benghazi," he said.

Britain, France and Lebanon sponsored the new resolution, which provides the moral and legal basis for military action.

British and French forces are understood to have been placed on standby after the US said it was prepared to support the measure if Arab countries agreed to take an active role.

The security council was scheduled to vote on the new resolution this evening, and its backers expressed confidence it would pass after hours of negotiation......"

Saudi Arabia's intervention in Bahrain's pro-democracy protests could leave the island bleeding for years to come.

Mark LeVineAl-Jazeera

"Almost eight years to the day after the United States invaded Iraq, I never thought I'd see this sight: Saudi troops rolling through the capital of Bahrain the way Americans rolled through Baghdad.

Rhetorically, the difference between the two invasions couldn't be greater. The goal of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" was to liberate Iraq from the "grip of the dictator Saddam Hussein", while the stated reason for the Saudis entering Bahrain was to "safeguard security and stability".

But the reality of the two occupations are, at base, the same – as will be their results. The Saudis occupying Bahrain under cover of the "GCC" is like US invading Iraq under cover of the "Coalition of the Willing" – both will end in disaster, as is becoming more evident by the minute.

Whatever the intentions or rationales, when you bring foreign troops onto another country's soil, "freedom", "security" and "stability" almost always turn into violence, oppression, and chaos.....

The ends of mercenary power

Sadly, it seems that in order to achieve their goals, Bahrain's democracy forces will have to pass through a test of fire closer to Libya's than to Egypt or Tunisia's.

Protesters in Cairo or Tunis safely bet that young Egyptian and Tunisian conscripts would not commit large scale violence against them even if ordered to by superiors. In Bahrain, however, the security and armed forces are almost entirely foreign.

Pakistanis (particularly Baluchis), Yemenis, Jordanians, Syrians and now Saudis and GCC troops seconded to the kingdom – Bahrain's geography of repressive power is a confusing maze of nationalities, tribes and ethnic groups.

What unites them is the fact that they are entirely Sunni and have no compunction about harming and even killing Bahraini protesters at the command of their Bahraini paymasters (indeed, many receive Bahraini citizenship as a reward for their services).

Indeed, representatives from both local and major international human rights organisations specifically pointed out to me how Bahrain's state controlled media has been putting out messages to the Sunni minority that "any democracy will be a danger for you because you'll be killed by Shia."

They have incited them against their Shia fellow citizens in a manner that one senior activist compared to the propaganda on Rwandan radio during the genocide.

Even social media like Facebook have been coopted to this task.

A friend called me as I drove through Manama to warn that he was receiving "vicious" Facebook messages declaring that soon "the Shia would get what they deserved", while a group had formed, in his words, to prepare for the "end of time".

At base, such fear are based on a vision of the country falling into a fratricidal civil war in which Tehran and Riyadh use Bahrain's Shia and Sunnis as proxies in a war for control over the Persian/Arabian Gulf.

Such a scenario remains, we can hope, highly unlikely.

But with the Bahraini king abandoning any pretence of reform and the US, and other Western countries either powerless or uninterested in stopping the Saudi power play, Bahrain could well bleed for years to come, putting yet another stain on the inexorable if increasingly painful progress towards democratisation in the Arab world."

"Abdulghani al-Iryani, a Yemeni political researcher and analyst, breaks down the challenges facing his country, describes the nature of the uprising taking place there and shares his views on the prospects for change."

"Reporting from the rebel-held city of Benghazi in eastern Libya, Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat visits a new media center established by anti-government forces to report on their struggle against forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi...."

"The current Arab counter-revolution is brought to you by the House of Saud - and enabled by the Pentagon. The Gulf has been plunged into pre-emptive war. After the initial euphoria of the great 2011 Arab revolt, the message of the Gulf kingdoms and sheikhdoms to Washington has been unambiguous - and effective; if we "fall", your strategic game is in pieces. Once more, "stability" trumps democracy....

Saudi media may slam Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his lethal strategy against his own people. But Libya and Saudi Arabia are equals. Gaddafi has laid out the counter-revolution playbook; bomb the fight out of the protesters. His winning strategy is the same as Bahrain's, with crucial Saudi help....

So "outreach" means talking to pro-democracy "rebels", while "regime alteration" means endorsing brutal crackdowns against pro-democracy protesters. The proof that the policy is official is that Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant US secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, has been at the US Embassy in Manama since Monday - where he oversaw, live, the Saudi invasion and the subsequent bloody repression of the Pearl/Lulu roundabout (50 tanks, heavy armored vehicles, several helicopters). This is the fourth time Feltman visited Bahrain in one month.....

It's never enough to repeat that Bahrain's youth movement - at the forefront of the protests - is basically composed of students, liberal professionals and masses of unemployed. Young Bahrainis - taking their cue from the Egyptians - are saying, once again, Kefaya! (That's enough.)

History is coming to get you

Judging by the way it is covering Bahrain - especially when compared to its wall-to-wall Libya coverage - al-Jazeera regrettably is now aligning itself with the Arab counter-revolution. That is, Qatar is also an accomplice. al-Jazeera insists what's going on in Bahrain is just a "confrontation".....

Bahrainis now have not only a dictator to overthrow but a foreign army to throw out....

The pre-emptive war in Manama is the battle that the House of Saud, the emir of Qatar, the sultan of Oman and the wealthy Emirates fear having to fight at home. They have already proved they are on the wrong side of history. Their crackdown - blessed by Washington's "regime alteration" policy - may work, for now. But sooner or later history will vacuum-clean them to oblivion."